2_Osgood_APPENDIX_A.docx

Osgood Stewardship IRSC Page 8 of 8

APPENDIX A – WORK ACTIVITY ITEMS

1. Small Tree Thinning and Forwarding to Landing – Mandatory bid items 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 & 21

Table 1, Individual Units: The table below lists the units included in the mandatory bid items.

(Acres)

Small tree thinning is defined by the diameter of trees that are to be cut by designation by description as stewardship work items. Small trees thinned under this work item shall be removed or treated according to the specifications in Table 5.

Individual Sawlog Tree Mark: Green trees identified in table 2 as Individual Sawlog Cut Tree Mark – BLUE PAINT are not included in any bid item and are covered under the timber removal specifications (See Appendix B for Timber Specifications). The purpose of these designated trees is to meet the desired stand density, which cannot be achieved by the Designation by Description alone.

Table 2, Individual Unit Thinning Specifications: The table below sets the parameters for live tree thinning in each unit.

*Unit 1169 is an aspen treatment unit. Cut all conifers less than 10” dbh.

**Within units 169 and 170 areas of aspen exist where all or most of the conifers less than 10” dbh should be removed. These areas are scattered and mainly located in the area south of the meadows in the low lying areas. Areas of small tree removal near aspen will be identified during operations and approved by the COR.

Leave Tree Specifications: The column headed Designation by Description in table 2 indicates the diameter range of trees within each unit that will require cutting as specified by description only. These will be contractually designated and are not marked with paint. The column headed Residual TPA<10” DBH in table 2 indicates the number of trees per acre less than 10” dbh within each unit to be retained according to the criteria below.

Selection of leave trees Leave trees shall generally be those of largest crown, straightest bole, and greatest vigor that are free of damage due to insects, disease, physical and mechanical causes. Thinning can be performed by a mechanical harvester, mechanical processor, or chain saw felling. The Contractor shall select leave trees using the following priorities:

· Leave all hardwood trees. Do not include hardwoods when thinning conifers for spacing.

· Leave all damaged or undamaged conifer trees, which exceed 10.0 inches DBH (12.0 inches DSH).

· Select conifer leave trees per acre that are less than 10 inches DBH (12 inches DSH) according to table 2 that are of the best form as listed below. Tree spacing will be variable leaving the healthiest trees. Trees greater than 10”dbh will be ignored relative to spacing. Remove all other conifer trees less than 10 inches DBH except Mountain Hemlock or Sierra Juniper.

· In mastication units or areas, trees 24” tall to 2.9” DBH may be treated via mastication.

· Trees that are masticated do not need to be felled and can be masticated on the stump.

Selection Criteria for Leave Trees:

1. Select leave trees from healthy conifers that are free from disease and damage.

2. Select trees which have a 30% or greater live vigorous crown.

3. Select trees with good form (e.g. no two way sweep, no spiral grain, etc.) while maintaining species distribution.

4. Select trees with the best recent height growth

5. Do not cut Mountain Hemlock or Sierra Juniper unless agreed to by contract administrator.

6. Unless indicated by a specific task order, select leave trees based on the following species preference:

1. Any hardwood,

2. Sugar or western white pine,

3. Juniper or Hemlock

4. Jeffrey or ponderosa pine,

5. Red fir,

6. White fir,

7. Lodgepole pine.

2. Fuels treatment of slash and biomass – Mandatory bid items 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 & 22

Table 3, Individual Units: The table below lists the units included in the mandatory bid items.

(Acres)

Fuels treatment includes the treatment of existing and contractor generated slash and biomass material. This includes the cutting of snags and treatment of concentrations of down fuels and other contractor generated slash. Slash and biomass will be removed to landings or treated according to the specifications found in tables 4 and 5.

All BLUE marked snags and snags between 2-9.9 inches DBH are to be cut. Unmarked snags over 10” dbh are leave trees and shall only be cut if it is a hazard to operations.

Table 4: Individual Unit Slash Treatment Specifications: The table below sets the parameters for slash treatment in each unit.

L&S

L&S

No mastication within 200 feet of FS road 1201.

Remove- Remove slash and biomass to the landing Mast –Masticate slash and biomass Chip –Chip slash and biomass Pile –Machine piling in upland areas as approved L&S-Lop and Scatter as approved

Secondary slash treatment methods may be utilized only with contract administrator approval based on specifications found in table 5.

Table 5: Slash Treatment Specifications: The table below sets the parameters for treatment of each type of slash.

1. Mastication/Chipping shall be accomplished by using a self-propelled machine capable of operating on slopes up to 30 percent from the slash mat, with an articulating grapple boom having an operating radius of at least 20 feet for accessing biomass material. Unless otherwise agreed, residual masticated or chipped vegetative debris resulting from contractor’s operations shall lie flat on the ground and not exceed 4 inches in height averaged over 80% of the unit. Individual pieces of masticated or chipped material shall not exceed 6 feet in length.

1. Machine piling, including location and size of piles may be allowed by agreement within treatment units (according to the tables above) where biomass material exists that cannot be removed or treated by mastication, chipping or lopping & scattering. If piles are created they must be constructed in such a manner that results in 85% consumption of debris when burned. Location of piles shall be agreed upon prior to construction. Piles shall not be located within SEZs, SEZ buffers, areas that have been masticated, on system roads, system trails or private property.

1. No piling, masticating or chipping shall be performed within Controlled Areas, streamzone buffers, or other pile exclusion zones as shown on the project area map. No burn piles, masticating or chipping within 50 feet horizontal distance from intermittent and perennial stream channels and 10’ from ephemeral stream channels. In general piling, masticating or chipping 25’ from red and black striped flagging should be sufficient. Piles shall be located so that burning will not damage standing trees, snags, or improvements.

1. Lopped and Scattered material will be within 18 inches of the ground. Material shall be scattered into openings away from and without unnecessary damage to residual trees. All scattered logs shall be limbed, placed away from trees and positioned so they will not roll.

1. Masticated, chipped or lopped and scattered material shall not accumulate within stream channels, on roads, trails or private property. Material of any kind would not be placed or left in the watercourse or left in a manner that it could access the watercourse, meadow, or wetland.

1. Down logs retained to meet the residual logs/acre specification should be at least 20” in diameter at the large end and 20’ long (if available) and distributed evenly throughout the stand. Where down logs exist that meet the down log requirement, they will be retained in the forest. Contractor will only remove material in excess of down log requirement. If existing downed material is clumped in pockets of heavy down fuels, material will need to be redistributed before removing or piling to ensure down log specifications are met.

1. Snags retained to meet the residual snags/acre specification should be at least 20” DBH and 20’ in height. Snags have been marked for removal with blue paint. Retention snags are unmarked. In some units there are not enough existing, quality wildlife snags to meet specifications, so unmarked snags should only be felled if they pose a hazard to operations. If an area is deficient in down logs and there are marked snags that meet the down log size requirements, they should be cut and left in the forest to help meet the down log requirement.

3. Road Maintenance and Erosion Control – Mandatory bid item 23

1. See Schedule of Items, and appendix C-Road Maintenance and Erosion Control Plan, attached drawings, and LTBMU Agreement for Wet Weather Operations and Operations Outside Normal Operating Season.

1. For the entire project area, no ground disturbing operations shall be allowed until FS personnel have determined operable soil conditions exist.

1. For the entire project area, no ground disturbing operations shall be allowed between October 16 and April 30 due to sensitive soils (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency grading ordinance restriction), unless a variance is issued.

1. Work must be in compliance with all applicable Best Management Practices (BMPs) listed in Appendix C and applicable water quality BMPs from Appendix F of the Waste Water Discharge Permit (WWDR).

Table 6, Roads: The table below lists the roads included in bid item 23.

*The Saxon Creek crossing on Forest Road 1201 may not be available in 2017 due to bridge replacement. An alternate route will be available during this period utilizing Forest Roads 12N08 and 1204 to Pioneer Trail. The distance from the intersection of Forest Road 12N08/12N17 to Pioneer Trail using this route is approximately 1 mile (see map). This route includes 0.54 mile of native surface, and 0.46 mile of paved road.

5. Individual Unit Resource Protection Specifications – applies to all bid items and timber removal

Table 7, Individual Unit Resource Protection Specifications: The table below sets the parameters for resource protection measures in each unit.

-Equipment may reach in, end-line, and/or directional hand fall.

-Must comply with applicable BMPs in Appendix C.

1) Areas with soil moisture concerns

2) Streamzone/Water feature

3) Anywhere aspens, riparian vegetation or excess soil moisture are present

1) Green and Blue flagging

2) Within 25’ of Red and Black striped flagging

3) May not be flagged on the ground or identified on a map No piling/mastication/chipping -Removal, lop and scatter, or piling/mastication/chipping in adjacent uplands permitted based on slash treatment specifications in Appendix A -FS personnel will check soil moisture to determine if conditions are operable.

-Full suspension required within site boundary.

-Crossings must be approved. No grading or blading on systems road that bisect SMA’s, or on linear SMA’s.

-Sites identified on contract map but additional sites may be flagged prior to or during operations if found.

-No operations allowed from Feb 15- Sep. 15 -Leave specified number of snags/down logs per acre according to Individual Unit Slash Treatment Specifications in Appendix A.

-No operations allowed from Feb 15- Sep. 15 (south and west 2/3rd of unit) -Leave specified number of snags/down logs per acre according to Individual Unit Slash Treatment Specifications in Appendix A.

-Leave specified number of snags/down logs per acre according to Individual Unit Slash Treatment Specifications in Appendix A.

GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN

Inspection (General): Government inspections are for the purpose of satisfying the Government that the services are acceptable and do not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for maintaining quality control. The Contractor shall conduct inspections on all units in accordance with the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan included in the Contractor’s technical proposal which is made part of this contract.

Inspection (Specific):

Bid Items 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 & 21: Small Tree Thinning and Forwarding to Landing Measurable Performance Standards

· Selection and condition of leave trees.

· Spacing of leave trees.

· Amount of material left uncut that meets the cutting specifications.

· Removal of cut trees to landings as specified.

· Height of stumps after cutting.

· Compliance with individual unit resource protection specifications (Table 7).

Bid Item 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 & 22: Fuels treatment of slash and biomass Measurable Performance Standards

· Amount of material not removed that meets specifications.

· Amount of material left unmasticated/chipped that meets specifications.

· Amount of material not piled that meets specifications.

· Amount of material not lopped & scattered that meets specifications

· Depth of masticated/chipped material does not exceed specified depth.

· Depth of lopped & scattered material does not exceed specified depth.

· Down log component meets specifications.

· Compliance with individual unit resource protection specifications (Table 7).

Bid Item 23: Road Maintenance and Erosion Control Measurable Performance Standards

· Compliance with specifications and drawings.

· Compliance with all applicable Best Management Practices (BMP).

· Compliance with the LTBMU Agreement for Wet Weather Operations and Operations Outside Normal Operating Season.

· Compliance with individual unit resource protection specifications (Table 7).

Government Inspections: The Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer’s duly authorized representative will conduct all inspections. The Contractor (or designated representative) is encouraged to be present to observe inspections. Inspections will be a walk-through visual examination of the Unit. When work appears satisfactory, it will be accepted. When work appears unsatisfactory, the contractor will be responsible for rework to correct the deficiencies. The Government may suspend operations if it is apparent the contractor is not meeting specifications.

Measurement for Stewardship Credit. Acreage was measured on a horizontal plane using a Global Positioning System. Unless otherwise indicated by this contract, the contractor may request remeasurement of any quantities. The request must be made in writing and must be made within 10 calendar days of completing work on the unit in question. If remeasurement indicates a variance of five percent or less from the stated quantity, the Forest Service may deduct Stewardship Credits to the Contractor equal to the cost of this remeasurement. If remeasurement indicates a variance of more than five percent from the stated quantity, Stewardship Credits will be based on the remeasured quantity, and the Contractor will not be liable for the costs of remeasurement. All remeasurements will be done by the Forest Service. The Forest Service may remeasure quantities of completed stewardship work activities at its discretion. Forest Service will bear all costs for discretionary remeasurement. Remeasured quantities will be the basis for awarding Stewardship Credits. Remeasurement of acreage will be done using a Global Positioning System.